In emerging nations, social work is considered "an American thing." However, Aubrey Carpenter '07 believes her career knows no boundaries.

To Aubrey, humanitarian work has always meant helping people, whether ministering to migrant workers in Ohio or traveling overseas to help people in Romania.
So when the time came for her senior social work internship at Malone, she wanted to go abroad. Malone's Social Work department rarely places international internships due to liability and accreditation issues.

"I really pushed it and researched as much as I could, because I wanted to intern in Africa. Yet everywhere I turned, doors closed," she said. "I thought I would have to wait until grad school to go. 

Ken Stoltzfus, associate professor of Social Work, told Aubrey that God would have to intervene for her dream to come true. He agreed to talk to Charles Howard, a friend and social worker who managed the CURE Children's Hospital in Mbale, Uganda. 

"I thought Charles would discourage an internship, but instead he welcomed Aubrey and a student from another college," said Ken. 

During her internship, Aubrey worked with parents of children with spina bifida, educating them on care and life expectancy. She trained counselors in an AIDS clinic. And everywhere she went, she was surrounded by fascinated (and sometimes scared!) children who had never seen a person with light skin. 

Aubrey recently graduated from Dominican University in Chicago, which boasts one of the few international social work master's degrees in the United States, where she also interned at the American Red Cross.